


Birthday Wishes

by touchmytardis



Category: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell & Related Fandoms, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (TV), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Genre: M/M, Sex, magic?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:00:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/touchmytardis/pseuds/touchmytardis
Summary: It's March! March is John Segundus' birthday! His friends throw him a birthday dinner and he makes a wish and he wishes for sex. That is all.
Relationships: John Childermass/John Segundus
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	Birthday Wishes

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea when John Segundus' birthday might be, but I have now decided it is march. I wrote this for me because my other fics were TOO DARK.

John Segundus had not celebrated a birthday since he was very young, and he was perfectly fine with that. He was a magician, and he was aware of the lore surrounding birthdays and so he told no one. (giving someone the date you are born gives them power over you, not much power unless you give them the exact time, but still enough so they can use it against you.) While Mr Segundus had mostly only met gentleman magicians, he was aware that there still were practitioners of older kinds of magic out there, and he did not want to risk giving them any information that could harm him. If anyone had asked him why anyone would want to harm him, Mr Segundus would most likely not have had an answer.

This year was different. This year, he was surrounded by people he trusted, and as he had told Mr Honeyfoot that his 35th birthday was coming up, his friend had insisted that they have a party. At first, Mr Honeyfoot had wanted a celebration with the whole school, but Mr Segundus had convinced him that it would be better if it was just the staff. And only a dinner. Mr Honeyfoot agreed to this, perhaps without realizing that Saturday nights always meant a slightly more formal dinner for the staff at Starecross. It would be quite an ordinary night.

When Mr Segundus, accompanied by Mr Honeyfoot, entered the small dining room that was reserved for these nights, he was relieved to see that things did not look very different. Emma Pole and Arabella Strange were seated on one side of the table, seemingly deep in conversation about the flowers placed in the middle of the table. (were there always flowers? they were not brought here for him, were they?) Childermass was seated at the far end of the table with a glass of red wine in his hand, and next to him was Tom Levy, his cheeks flushed with excitement as he was telling Childermass some story that Mr Segundus could not hear a word of. (they were not talking of him were they? these types of occasions always tended to make one the topic of conversation whether one wanted to or not)

The dinner was a pleasant one, every one wished him a happy birthday, but it was not mentioned more than twice and by the end of the second course, Mr Segundus was starting to think that celebrating birthdays might not be so bad when one has friends. The plates were cleared away, and the things for dessert and coffee were brought in by the servants, who thankfully did not seem to know that it was Mr Segundus’ birthday. It was, however, rather odd that Childermass got up and followed Anne into the kitchen. While it would not come as a surprise that one might take a fancy to one of the many pretty women that roamed these halls, Mr Segundus had never seen Childermass take any particular interest in any of them before. (as the headmaster of Starecross, he thought it was important that he took note of these things, as any mishaps between his staff would be his responsibility.)

These questions were put to rest when Childermass emerged alone from the kitchen, carrying a cake with a small candle burning in the middle. Mr Honeyfoot placed a hand on Mr Segundus’ arm and spoke in a low voice.

“We thought the servants might wonder why there was a candle in the cake, so we took care of it...”

The cake was placed in front of Mr Segundus, a light sponge covered in cream and sugared lavender buds.

“Well, make a wish.” Childermass said, and Mr Segundus thought he could see one of his rare smiles forming in the corner of his mouth.

This was the kind of thing he had been worried about. This made the night feel less like a normal dinner at Starecross and more as though he was being celebrated. He did not want to be celebrated because all he had done to deserve this was being born, and he did not think that was much of an accomplishment. Even worse, all eyes were on him now, and even though these were his friends, it made him very uncomfortable. (should he say something? he should say something. who knew about his fondness for candied lavender?) He felt his cheeks, already warm from the wine, turning a deeper shade of red as he spoke:

“This is all very kind. I am not the sort of man who normally celebrates my birthday… but I am glad that we are all here. So, thank you.”

“Go on then, blow it out.” Childermass said, with an amused tone in his voice.

John Segundus did not believe in wishes, he believed in magic and he believed that giving your birth date or your name to the wrong person would lead to very bad things, but he did not believe in wishes. Especially not wishes made on birthdays, or on cakes. But he was surrounded by people he loved, he was happy and he could feel them watching him. So he closed his eyes. He stilled his mind and inhaled deeply. As he exhaled, only one thing was on his mind. Even though he did not speak the name, it felt as though it escaped his lips, wrapped itself around the wick of the candle and extinguished the flame.

The change in the atmosphere was subtle, and he did not think anyone else noticed. Like the weakest breeze on a hot summer day, not enough to give you relief from the sweltering heat but enough to feel it caressing your neck. It was over in a few seconds, and his friends cheered. He smiled at the silliness of the situation, and he smiled because his mind and heart were full of wine, a secret wish and fondness for his friends. He opened his eyes and looked up, and found his eyes locked with Childermass’. There is something odd about his gaze, something suggesting he had felt the shift too. Surely there hadn’t been any actual magic at work?

Childermass smiled vaguely as he cut the cake, and placed the first slice on Mr Segundus’ plate. He murmured a thanks and brought a bite to his mouth. To this day, he has not tasted a better cake. It was so sweet and moist, the cream thick and flavoured with vanilla and the lavender buds added a rich floral taste and he could not be sure that he had not been making noises when eating it.

They sat by the dinner table for an hour or so more, drinking coffee and eating most of the cake. Mr Honeyfoot was the first one to retire for the night, shortly followed by Arabella. Emma, Tom Levy, Childermass and Mr Segundus went into the parlour for a glass or two of sherry. Childermass had brought his cards of Marseilles and was demonstrating them to Tom Levy while Mr Segundus and Emma were talking about past birthdays. He asked her what Sir Pole would do for her birthdays, and blushed furiously when he realized that they had not most likely not had many celebrations together.

“Oh, do calm yourself! I am sure he would have thrown me wonderful parties if I had not been afflicted.”

“Are you ever going to return to him?”

“Some day, surely. But for now, I am happier among friends.”

“Here, here!” Tom Levy shouted, raising his glass high above the small table. The others returned the gesture, and the bottle was passed around so everyone could refill their glasses. Emma asked to have her cards read, and so Tom Levy swapped places with her. Mr Segundus found himself engaged in a conversation on the magical uses of birthday cakes and sherry.

  
It was close to midnight when Childermass finished his reading for Emma, and she bid them good night. Tom Levy had fallen asleep next to Mr Segundus some twenty minutes or so earlier, and Childermass helped Mr Segundus rouse him, he too went off to bed. Childermass took the empty place on the sopha and poured the last of the sherry into their glasses.

“How has your birthday been, sir?”

“Very good, thank you.”

“Is there anything I can do to make it better?”

If it had been any other night, Mr Segundus might not have given this question a second thought. On this night, however, he was acutely aware of how Childermass had leaned closer to him as he had asked the question, and how the intonation had changed at the “I” and the “better”. He might blame the sherry, and he might blame the way the dying fire was making Childermass’ eyes gleam. He was going to say something, but his mouth had become incredibly dry, and he could not remember what an appropriate response was. He looked down at the glass in his hand, and he looked at Childermass’ leg, so close to his own.

“This was your wish, wasn’t it?” Childermass whispered, so close that Mr Segundus could feel his breath on his cheek. Sherry and warmth. It was his wish.

“You enchanted the candle!”

“Perhaps.”

And then Mr Segundus realized what all this truly meant. His wish was coming true and all he had to do was to simply let it happen. Excitement turned into nervousness which turned into determination, all this in a matter of seconds as he stood up and offered his hand to Childermass.

“Then will you accompany me to my room?”

Mr Segundus watched as Childermass’ eyes widened and then relaxed, as his lips formed a sideways smile for a few seconds and as he closed his eyes and gave a small nod. Childermass’ hand felt softer than he had expected, but just as warm and comfortable in his own as he had imagined. Neither of them spoke as they made their way through the corridors of Starecross Hall, and they did not let go of each other until Mr Segundus had locked the door behind them.

“Will you remember this?”

“It’s your wish, sir. I will forget if you want me to forget.”

Mr Segundus had thought he would be able to take it slow. To ask the necessary questions and to find out what kind of magic was involved. But he was also alone in his bedchamber with the object of his desires, he had had a few glasses too many and he had forgotten all his questions.

He moved closer to Childermass, put a hand on the back of his neck and brought the other man’s face to his own. A soft touch of lips against lips quickly turned into something Mr Segundus had never experienced before and something he had not known he wanted this desperately. It was wet and desperate and he was biting Childermass bottom lip one moment and dragging his tongue along it the next before Childermass’ tongue met his somewhere between their mouths and all his doubts went away when he heard Childermass moan into his mouth.

It was a desire Mr Segundus had never felt before, and it only grew in intensity as he let his hands move down the other man’s body, brushing across his shoulders and down his back and lower until both his hand had taken a firm hold of his ass. Another moan vibrated in Childermass’ throat as he pushed his body closer, into the touch and into Mr Segundus’ hands.

“Take your clothes off.” Mr Segundus whispered into his ear when they finally pulled apart. He brought his hands back to Childermass’ hair as the other man was busy with unbuttoning several layers of clothes. His hair smelled a bit like burnt wood, but was incredibly soft. He nestled his fingers into it, tugged lightly and felt Childermass shudder under his touch.

When waistcoat and shirt was unbuttoned, and the breeches had fallen to the floor, Mr Segundus could no longer wait.

“If you could just… my clothes?” he murmured against Childermass’ lips before resuming their kissing. His hands returned to Childermass’ body, now feeling bare skin under his fingers. Scarred skin on his chest and firm skin on his stomach and hairy skin further down. Soft skin on his back and wonderfully sensitive skin on his ass. He let his fingers move further down and he wanted nothing more than to put them inside of Childermass, and judging by the sounds he was making, Childermass wanted it to. They pulled apart once more, and Mr Segundus quickly took the last of their clothes off.

“Where do you want me?” Childermass’ voice reminded Mr Segundus of honey. Thick and sweet and sticky and even the smallest taste made him want more. He led Childermass to the foot of the bed and bent him down over it so that his face was resting against the soft covers of the bed and his knees against the cold and hard floor. It was a wish, so comfort was most likely not important, Mr Segundus decided. He put the fingers of his left hand against Childermass’ mouth, and felt the warm mouth close around them as he wrapped his right hand around Childermass’ cock. He stroked his erection slowly, as he moved his fingers back to Childermass’ ass and began rubbing a slow circle around his opening, eliciting a number of moans and whispered profanities from the other man.

Mr Segundus slid his first finger into Childermass, and felt the other man shuddering throughout his entire body. When the other finger went in, they were both moaning and Mr Segundus was not sure how long he would be able to last. He leaned down over Childermass’ back and placed soft kisses across his neck as he moved his fingers inside of him. He could hear Childermass breathing heavily and he could see his face contorted with pleasure, eyes half closed and teeth against his bottom lip and his hair undone, soft locks spilling across his shoulders and face.

This could have been enough for him. If it had not been a wish, it would absolutely have been enough to hear and see and feel Childermass like this. But this was his birthday wish, and he wanted nothing more than to fuck John Childermass, even if he would only last for a few seconds, he wanted to know what it felt like to be inside of him. He removed his fingers and rubbed the moist tip of his cock against Childermass’ opening, pushing lightly until he could feel the other man’s body welcoming him. He begun stroking Childermass’ cock again, trying to move his hips at the same pace as his hand. He had never been good with keeping a steady tempo, but he seemed to be doing something right as Childermass had become quite loud, another steady stream of curses, moans and gasps was being swallowed up by the many layers of fabric on top of the bed, but it was still not enough to keep the noise down.

Mr Segundus leaned down again, and clasped his free hand over Childermass mouth. However, this had the effect of changing the angle ever so slightly, and Mr Segundus found himself being the loud one as he pushed into Childermass one more time before reaching his climax and filling the other man with his seed. Childermass was writhing underneath him, seeming to be right at the edge himself, so Mr Segundus kept his hand on his mouth while quickly stroking his cock until he felt the familiar twitch in his right hand and teeth against his left hand.

He pulled Childermass onto the bed and pulled a blanket from the floor to cover them.

“John?” Mr Segundus asked after a few moments.

“Hm?”

“When is your birthday?”

**Author's Note:**

> I just reread this (5??? months later) and I... ? do not remember 90% of the sex scene. WOW.


End file.
